4 Indian healthtech start-ups that could be unicorns

Baby unicorns are emerging in the healthcare space and they could make the leap to unicorn in the future, reports Tech in Asia

Lack of access to good healthcare is a massive problem in India, which has an acute shortage of doctors and hospitals, especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities and rural areas. 

However, we are seeing the emergence of baby unicorns in the healthcare space. Some of these could become full-fledged unicorns with billion dollar valuations, according to data from Tracxn.

Here are the four potential unicorns:

Practo

Practo is the biggest of the potential unicorns, having raised $90 million in a Series C round in the midst of last year’s funding boom. The start-up works on two parallel tracks. The first is a consumer-focused one helping users find doctors and book appointments; the other one is a software as a service product called Practo Ray that helps doctors manage their practice.

NetMeds

NetMeds solves the problem of home delivery of medicines, which is made complicated by rules on the sale of prescription drugs. It has been spreading its reach into Tier-II and Tier-III cities after a $50 million funding round last year.

Portea

Portea is a provider of medical care at home. It provides care for the elderly, as well as palliative care and physiotherapy.

Portea raised a Series B round of $37.5 million last year as demand grew for its services. It has also made two acquisitions to grow faster.

HealthKart

HealthKart completes the quartet of potential unicorns. It is an e-commerce portal for consumer healthcare products, like dietary supplements and medical devices. HealthKart steers clear of medical drugs which require prescriptions.

Last month, the start-up raised $12 million from Sequoia Capital and other investors.


This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here